The Oceanside Museum of Art’s board of directors has named Tara Smith as interim director following the recent resignation of Ed Fosmire as the institution’s executive director.

Smith, a former curator at the now closed gallery at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, joined the museum’s staff in January as deputy director. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Goldsmiths, University of London, she had formed strong relationships with local artists while working in Escondido. In Oceanside, she inaugurated an innovative “Artists@Work” and other programs that also focused on San Diego county artists.

Fosmire, who arrived at the Oceanside Museum in April 2010, was the institution’s second executive director, succeeding the museum’s founding director, James “Skip” Pahl. Fosmire elected to not renew his contract and accepted a position as deputy director of the Laguna Art Museum. Prior to coming to Oceanside, Fosmire worked in Long Beach, where he held development positions with California State University, Long Beach; the Long Beach Museum of Art; and the the Arts Council of Long Beach.

“The decision was difficult, but I wanted to be closer to my family in Orange County,” Fosmire said in a statement released by both the Laguna Beach and Oceanside museums.